In the art of making golf balls, it is desirable to achieve a cured rubber component that has a soft feel with maximum rebound. In particular, these properties are highly desirable at high frequencies, which can be observed by analyzing the viscoelastic properties of the cured components. For example, the elastic storage modulus, i.e., G′, is indicative of the rubber components hardness and is therefore preferably minimized, especially at higher frequencies. The hysteresis loss of the rubber component, i.e., tan δ, which is G″/G′, is indicative of the rebound characteristics of the rubber component. In other words, as the loss of energy due to heat is minimized, the available energy that can be returned as rebound is maximized.
Inasmuch as these desirable properties are inversely related to one another, there is a continued need to develop rubber compositions that give rise to cured components that demonstrate both low modulus and low hysteresis loss at higher frequencies.